The Late Late Show Eurosong special 2025: When is it on, who are the acts, who picks the winner and more

Now that an especially wild January is finally in the past, we can turn our attention to something brighter: The Late Late Show’s annual Eurosong special to choose Ireland’s representative for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Nemo, the competition’s first nonbinary winner, took home the trophy for Switzerland last year, which means this year’s contest will be in their home country – in the city of Basle. Read on to discover who we’ll see battling it out on the airwaves in the hopes of following in the footsteps of the Cork-born ouija-pop sensation Bambie Thug.

When is it on?

The Late Late Show Eurosong special is on RTÉ One on Friday, February 7th, at 9.35pm.

How does it work?

A three-way voting process will choose the winner. The decision-making is split between a national jury, an international jury and a public vote. These can differ largely in their preferences, so the all-important public vote can make all the difference: Next in Line, a boy band assembled by Louis Walsh, topped the international jury’s vote in 2024 but came last in the national jury’s vote.

Who are the contestants?

Pressure is mounting after Bambie Thug’s sixth-place Eurovision finish with Doomsday Blue put Ireland back on the map last May. So how do the contenders for this year stack up? The six hopefuls vying to represent Ireland in Eurovision 2025 are the electropop singer Bobbi Arlo, with Powerplay; the Galway singer Reylta, with Fire; the Limerick artist NIYL, with Growth; the Norway-born singer Emmy, with Laika Party; the 2000s pop star Samantha Mumba, with her power ballad My Way; and the Donegal-born performer Adgy, with Run into the Night.

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What are their songs like?

Here’s how my colleague Ed Power, The Irish Times music writer, sums up each tune.

Powerplay, by Bobbi Arlo: A slaloming would-be electro anthem with elements of Nine Inch Nails and early Lady Gaga, this is a frisky pile-driver, catchy yet pummelling.

Fire, by Reylta: Celtic pop meets angst folk, culminating with a Florence and the Machine-does-Kate Bush-style chorus of “Fiiiiiire”. You have to admire Reylta for trying something distinctively Irish.

Run into the Night, by Adgy: Adgy describes the song as a “Celtic pop anthem” – though it may strike some listeners as a sort of groove-fuelled Mumford and Sons. It has the ecstatic clubland spirit so beloved of Eurovision.

My Way, by Samantha Mumba: This epic power ballad is a fine showcase for Mumba’s rich, expressive voice, though there will surely be fears of it getting lost amid Eurovision’s traditional onslaught of power ballads.

Growth, by NIYL: A soulful torch song (with a nice chanty chorus: “feel the love ... and let it go!”) that follows in a long tradition of Eurovision man-ballads – including the 2024 winner, The Code, by Nemo.

Laika Party, by Emmy: This feels too generically “Eurovision” to be a contender this summer. It’s the sort of song that the UK would put forward for Eurovision and then be astonished when it face-planted in the bottom five.

You can read Ed Power’s full take on each song here.

Who will win?

According to the irishtimes.com poll below, the early front-runners among readers were Growth and Laika Party. If you vote you’ll be able to see the current standings.

What about the national jury?

Details of the national jury will remain a mystery until Friday. You’ll have to tune into the Late Late to find out more. Last year a group of in-studio commentators included the Eurovision singer Sonia, who represented the UK back in 1993; the Dancing with the Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian; the radio presenter Louise Duffy; and the comedian Gearóid Farrelly. Let’s wait and see what 2025 has in store.

Why was Ireland’s Eurovision entry controversial last year?

Pro-Palestine activists called for an Irish boycott of Eurovision over Israel’s participation. More than 16,500 people signed a petition aimed at RTÉ, calling for the exclusion of Israel; the petition cited Eurovision’s ban on Russia in 2022, following its invasion of Ukraine, as a demonstration of its “capacity to take an ethical stance on human rights”. More than 400 Irish artists also wrote to Bambie Thug asking them to withdraw from the contest, alongside the Irish Coalition to Boycott Eurovision 2024 and Queers for Palestine. About 100 activists, musicians, actors and spectators gathered at the entrance to RTÉ in Donnybrook on May 2nd, 2024, for a mini-concert to protest the broadcaster’s coverage of the song contest.

Will Ireland ever win again?

In 2023 Sweden tied with us as the country with the most Eurovision wins: seven. Bambie Thug has set the standard high for Ireland, after securing our best finish since 2000 and first top 10 finish since Jedward, the X Factor duo, wowed with Lipstick in 2011. Perhaps the odds are back in our favour.

What should we look out for?

This will be Patrick Kielty’s second Late Late Eurosong. Will the Co Down comedian manage to deliver the special with as much pizazz as last year? Stay tuned to find out.